Invisible support for brackets and the like.



T. TSCHUDIN.

INVISIBLE SUPPORT FOR. BRACKETS AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR .25. 1918.

1,297,610. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

v I %13 attocwe-ta ESTA ESmmmm a moue'or'r rscnunm, or rnooxi-m, NEW Your; nwrsmm surroa'r r03; BRACKETS AND THE LIKE,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Tnoneo'rr Tsonunm, a subject of the Confederation of Switzerland, but having taken out'm'y first naturali- J zation papers in the United States, residing the bracket displosed and claimed in my copending application. Serial No. 162,831, filed April 18, 1911' Fixtures of this general character are frequently constructed from porcelain or vitreous china, and are generally secured in place on the wall of a bathroom by means of screws or other fastening devices passing through an attaching plate.

The fixtures are generally either of white material orenameled white, and are mounted. in position by screws, the heads ofwhich. have been previously enameled white to harmonize with the fixtures. As the screw heads are exposed to viewiafter the fixture is mounted, considerable care is required in the attaching operation, in order that the enamel on the screw heads will not be chiped or broken 0E, in which instance the fixture would become unsightly. The chips ping of the enamel is a very frequent occurrence and can be obviated only by exercisinn unusual care in mounting the bracket.

With the foregoing in mind, the object of the present inventionis to provide an improved support for brackets of the character specified. as .wellas others, which not onl obviates the necessity of great care in mounting the bracket but renders the supporting elements for said brackets invisible. Moreover, owing to irregularities in walls and fixtures, I have found it particularly desirable in practice to provide means of adjustment between the article to be supported and the supporting bracket. and the present invention supplies this want.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, as well as the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description taken in conjunction with the-accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing I have illus- Speciflcation 01' Letters Batent. Patented Mar. 18, 1919. Application filed March 25,

1918. Serial No. 224,414.

tratedone practical embodiment of the inis to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

xvention, but the construction therein shown Figure 1 is a sectional view of a bracket support embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.- .Fig. 3'is a perspective view of an attaching plate, showing the adjusting depression of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is a like view of a looking or binding member associatedtherewith. In the accompanying drawing, the invention is illustrated, as adaptedto support a tumbler-holder bracket, as this adaptation of the invention clearly illustrates the manner 7 of its use.

Referring to the drawing, A indicates an attaching plate adapted to be secured in any suitable manner, as by screws 0;, to a wall or other fixed support B. In the form shown,

plate A is slotted at opposite sides, as at a, and the screws a extend through said slots andinto the fixed support. The plate is provided with a forwardly extending stem C, substantially half of which is cut away, as at c, and in this portion of the stem is formed the adjusting depression or socket g, forming the salient feature of the present invention. A looking or clamping member D is provided, which corresponds in shape to the cut-away portion of the stem. A binding or set-screw d is threaded through locking member D for the purpose hereinafter pointed out.

The. clamp-ing end, or nose of screw (5, may, for the reasons hereinafter given, occupy, adjustably, various positions in depression g.

Stem C is shaped to substantially conform to the contour of a socket e formedin the base of the bracket E, which it is desired to support. In the form shown, the bracket, .as stated, has the. function of a tumbler-holder and is shaped to properly carry out the function ascribed thereto, a

tumbler F being supported within the dished portion 7 in the upper face of bracket E.

After the parts have been manufactured, they are generally shipped in assembled relation; that is to say, stem C, with looking member D in the cut-away portion thereof,

is inserted in the socket e in the base of the bracket and a set-screw d introduced through an aperture e, formed in the wall of the bracket, and screwed'through look ing member D, so that the'nose of saidsetscrew contacts with some portion of the bottom or side walls of depression g in the cut-away portion 0. As the set-screw is tightened, the adjacent faces of the cut-away portion and. the locking member are forced apart, thereby causing said locking member and the stem proper to become bound or jammed within socket 6. Thus, if we con,- sider locking member D as a portion of the stem, which was cut away, that, by tightening the set-screw, the stem is expanded within the constricted socket and locks the parts together by frictional en agement.

he customer purchases the bracket with the parts locked in position, and mounts the same by first retracting set-screw d, dismantling the parts, and thereafter mounting the attaching plate, by means of screws a, upon the supporting surface B, whereupon the parts are reassembled, as specified, and set-screw d tightened to expand the composite parts of the stem within the socket of the bracket and frictionally maintain the same in position. In this reassembling operation, it is not essential to entirely remove set-screw d, since, thestem proper is released and may be readily withdrawn from the socket. If said socket is circular in cross-section, and locking member D semi-cylindrical, as shown, said locking member will retain its position Within the socket after the stem is withdrawn, and this greatly facilitates the positioning of the parts in cooperative relation after the attaching plate has been secured in place,

It will be manifest from the foregoing description that a bracket supported in accordance with this invention is maintained in position by means which are entirely invisible. It is true that the aperture e in the bracket may be seen, if one is looking for it, but this aperture is, in practice, so positioned that it will be on the under, upper, or such side of the fixture as will not be normally visible when the bracket is in place. The-construction is simple, eflicient, and extremely economical to manufacture, because of the fact that the support, itself,

is entirely concealed and may thus be made of unfinished material, such as cast iron.

The manner of mounting brackets for supporting bath-room fixtures, as heretofore practised, has generally been to provide screw-holes in thebase of the bracket, through which screws might be passed to extend into a wall or the like. In order to obtain sufficient clearance between the head of the bracket and the heads of screws inserted through the base, it has been necessary to make the base quite extensive, so that the screw-holes would be positioned sufiiciently distant from the center of the it will appear the bracket. Artistic effects may as soon as it is loosened,

bracket to allow of their manipulation by .a screw-driver; Thus, in prior art structures, the bases, in' many cases, have been so extensive as to be out of proportion or artistic harmony with the remainder of the fixture.- Moreover, in constructing enlarged bases, considerable superfluous material is required, and this not only increases the size of the molds or castings necessary,- but results, in effect, in a waste of material, as well as in additional expense in crating and shipping. 'It will be manifest that the present invention overcomes these disadvantages and allows of the making of the base of minimum dimensions, since the manipula-. tion of the screw from'the side, or at right angles to the center line of the bracket, cannot be interfered with by the head of therefore be accomplished through the employment of the present invention, which efiects were absolutely impossible under the heretofore prevailing conditions specified.

For example, while the adjusting depression ease in drilling it in this-form, yet the particular shape or contour of said depression is shownas a countersink, because of is not material to the invention provided it permits of the required adjustment-or adjustments.

The particular depression permits of a relative adjustment of the parts Having thus fully described the invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is:

1. In a device of the class described, a

combination of supporting and supported members, said supporting member being provided with a stem having an expansible portion, a socket on the supported member adapted to embrace said stem, a device for expanding the expansible portion within said socket, and means cooperating with said member and socket, whereby the supported member may be adjustably' positioned longitudinally of the socket, whereby the irregularities in the wall to which the supporting member is secured, are compensated for.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a two-part supporting stem, a supporting member having a socket embracing said stem and supported thereby, one portion of said stem being provided with a depression extending longitudinally of said portion, and the other portion of the stem having a set-screw threaded therethrough and extendible into said socket,

whereby it may be made to partake of different longitudinal positions within said depression.

3. In a device of the class described, a

combination of supporting and supported members, the supporting member being provided with a two-part stem, and the supporting member having a socket adapted to receive said stem, and the supported member having a socket adapted to receive said stem,

' nose of said set-screw, whereby the supported member may be secured in adjustable positions longitudinally of the stem.

7 4. In a device of the" class described, the

combination of supporting and supported members, the supporting member being provided with a stem having an expansible portion, and the supported member having a socket to receive said stem, a member for expanding the expansible portion within the socket, and meansfor adjustably "and automatically positioning said member lengthwise of the socket.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination of supporting and supported members, the supporting member being provided with a stem having an expansible portion, and the supported member having a socket to receive said stem, and means for adjustably and automatically positioning said member, being adjustable longitudinally and transversely of the socket.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 40 name to .this specification.

TRQUGOTT T'SCHUDIN. 

